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A review by hazelgrace2411
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have wanted to read this book for so long since I last saw one of my favourite YouTubers crying after reading this book. Wherever I see a review of this book, I see people crying. It spiked my curiosity, and today I have finally finished it. I am so glad that I read this book. It is a must-read.
Where to start? Firstly the writing. I cannot stress enough that Hanya's writing is terrific. It is so subtle yet so merciless. She has done an incredible job of laying out the cruel reality of life. She keeps us readers engaged from the start till the very end. Her book is like an onion, peeling away each aspect of life.
I was so immersed in the story and all of the characters. I love Jude and Willem, and Harold, Julia, Andy, Malcolm, and JB. All of their dynamics with Jude and their selfless love and genuine care for him almost balanced out the traumatising parts of the book. This book is dark and whenever I came across those details, I had to put away the book and just stare blankly at the wall, wondering how can a human being be capable of such cruelty. I was so angry at those parts that I genuinely wanted to physically harm each one of them and make them pay for every bad thing they ever did to a child. Jude went through so much at such a small age. He didn't deserve any of those things. Nobody deserves it.
I am glad that Jude got to experience friendship and the true love and care of his parents. I feel for him. He didn't deserve any of it and the severe trauma he went through defined his whole life. He was never able to overcome any of it his entire life.
I thought I would ugly cry reading this book but I braved it all: Jude's past trauma, his abusive relationship with Cardan, Willem's death. But I broke at the very end. I thought Jude would live but he took his life after all. It was Harold's words that broke me and made me cry. Jude took away his life because he couldn't tolerate life anymore and he died believing all those words that his abusers wanted him to believe. He died thinking he was unworthy of all the love. He died believing he was worthless and this breaks my heart so much. Jude is going to be one of the fictional characters that I will have the most empathy for. He deserves all the love in the world.
This book is a reality check. These things happening to Jude are not fiction. My favorite John Green quote is- Life is not a wish-granting factory. We live among monsters and this world is surviving only because of people like Willem, Harold, Julia, Andy, Malcolm, JB, Irvines, and Richard.
This book breaks your heart and takes away a part of your soul. It is eye-opening. I know I will think about this book. I will think about Jude and how much he endured, and how evil men could be.
Favorite Quotes~
'Friendship, companionship: it so often defied logic, so often eluded the deserving, so often settled itself on the odd, the bad, the peculiar, the damaged.' (pg 91-92)
'... things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.' (pg 133-134)
'... because to be alive was to worry. Life was scary; it was unknowable.' (pg 500)
'We're all dying. He just knew his death would come sooner than he had planned. But that doesn't mean they weren't happy years, that it wasn't a happy life.' (pg 621)
'He had looked at Jude, then, and had felt that same sensation he sometimes did when he thought, really thought of Jude and what his life had been: a sadness, he might have called it, but it wasn't a pitying sadness; it was a larger sadness, one that seemed to encompass all the poor striving people, the billions he didn't know, all living their lives, a sadness that mingled with a wonder and awe at how hard humans everywhere tried to live, even when their days were so very difficult, even when their circumstances were so wretched. Life is so sad, he would think in those moments. It's so sad, and yet we all do it. We all cling to it; we all search for something to give us solace.' (pg 621)
'It isn't only that he died, or how he died; it is what he died believing. And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.' (pg 720)
Where to start? Firstly the writing. I cannot stress enough that Hanya's writing is terrific. It is so subtle yet so merciless. She has done an incredible job of laying out the cruel reality of life. She keeps us readers engaged from the start till the very end. Her book is like an onion, peeling away each aspect of life.
I was so immersed in the story and all of the characters. I love Jude and Willem, and Harold, Julia, Andy, Malcolm, and JB. All of their dynamics with Jude and their selfless love and genuine care for him almost balanced out the traumatising parts of the book. This book is dark and whenever I came across those details, I had to put away the book and just stare blankly at the wall, wondering how can a human being be capable of such cruelty. I was so angry at those parts that I genuinely wanted to physically harm each one of them and make them pay for every bad thing they ever did to a child. Jude went through so much at such a small age. He didn't deserve any of those things. Nobody deserves it.
I am glad that Jude got to experience friendship and the true love and care of his parents. I feel for him. He didn't deserve any of it and the severe trauma he went through defined his whole life. He was never able to overcome any of it his entire life.
I thought I would ugly cry reading this book but I braved it all: Jude's past trauma, his abusive relationship with Cardan, Willem's death. But I broke at the very end. I thought Jude would live but he took his life after all. It was Harold's words that broke me and made me cry. Jude took away his life because he couldn't tolerate life anymore and he died believing all those words that his abusers wanted him to believe. He died thinking he was unworthy of all the love. He died believing he was worthless and this breaks my heart so much. Jude is going to be one of the fictional characters that I will have the most empathy for. He deserves all the love in the world.
This book is a reality check. These things happening to Jude are not fiction. My favorite John Green quote is- Life is not a wish-granting factory. We live among monsters and this world is surviving only because of people like Willem, Harold, Julia, Andy, Malcolm, JB, Irvines, and Richard.
This book breaks your heart and takes away a part of your soul. It is eye-opening. I know I will think about this book. I will think about Jude and how much he endured, and how evil men could be.
Favorite Quotes~
'Friendship, companionship: it so often defied logic, so often eluded the deserving, so often settled itself on the odd, the bad, the peculiar, the damaged.' (pg 91-92)
'... things get broken, and sometimes they get repaired, and in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully.' (pg 133-134)
'... because to be alive was to worry. Life was scary; it was unknowable.' (pg 500)
'We're all dying. He just knew his death would come sooner than he had planned. But that doesn't mean they weren't happy years, that it wasn't a happy life.' (pg 621)
'He had looked at Jude, then, and had felt that same sensation he sometimes did when he thought, really thought of Jude and what his life had been: a sadness, he might have called it, but it wasn't a pitying sadness; it was a larger sadness, one that seemed to encompass all the poor striving people, the billions he didn't know, all living their lives, a sadness that mingled with a wonder and awe at how hard humans everywhere tried to live, even when their days were so very difficult, even when their circumstances were so wretched. Life is so sad, he would think in those moments. It's so sad, and yet we all do it. We all cling to it; we all search for something to give us solace.' (pg 621)
'It isn't only that he died, or how he died; it is what he died believing. And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.' (pg 720)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide attempt